Gentleness & Self-Control

In our eighth & final installment of "getting fruity", we closed with gentleness & self-control. Both are huge characteristics of God that can be applied separately, but I thought there was a beautiful application in tying them together.

Gentleness, in the Greek, is translated into meekness. And meekness is used as a word to describe a broken horse. A wild horse broken of its ways into controlled power. Naturally, a horse is an extremely powerful animal. But that power is of no use when out of control. It cannot be used for good. But, in submission, the horse becomes very powerful. Becomes very useful.

And just like the horse, we're no good out of control. We're no good running wild under the power of self & sin. And God can't use us. We can't be used for good.

BUT, in submission to God's control, we become useful. We become that much more powerful. All it takes is submission. Willing to be broken.

And Jesus shows us exactly how to put this into practice. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus refers to Himself as meek & calls us to learn from Him & be like Him. And Jesus always recognized God the Father as authority. He always submitted to the Father's will & never His own. He was broken. He submitted. He was meek.

So it's very easy to see that true self-control begins with true submission to God's control. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 tells that because we belong to God, we are called to be self-controlled. That because we are in submission to God's will & control, we are therefore called to be self-controlled. And we cannot have self-control without already belonging to the Father's control. It goes hand-in-hand.

So who's control are you submitting to? Are you submitting to the control of this world? To your self? To your sinful desires?

Or are you submitting to God's control? Are you practicing true self-control by submitting to God's control?

Be gentle. Be meek. Be broken. Be submissive. Be controlled.

JV

Owl City

I highly encourage you all to read Adam Young's (Owl City) latest blog post:

http://owlcityblog.com/2010/10/25/my-hope-is-found/

Adam covers "In Christ Alone" & takes the wonderful opportunity to indicate where he stands in this world. This is an excerpt from his blog:

"As I’m so often reminded what a priceless gift my life is, I ache with everything in me to make it count, so that when I finally cross the finish line, I’ll hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

To me, there is no greater reward.

Of course, all of this weighs heavily on the spiritual scale, so allow me to be completely honest and say none of it is intended to be “crammed down the throat,” if you will. That is not my intention. This is what I wholeheartedly believe, and to that belief, I remain steadfast until He returns or calls me home.

One thing is certain:

When He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me… because my banner will be clear."

Is your banner clear to this world? Can others tell who you belong to by the way you live your life? By your fruit? Know Jesus & make Jesus known. 

JV

Random Shirts

So a great company is finally making a comeback!

Back in college, my friends & I were were pretty big fans of this small little TX company called Random Shirts. They were highly popular among college students & printed off some of the most creative shirts around. Now a full-time staffer at a church in Dallas, TX, it will be a slow start to the comeback - but be patient - it'll be worth it.

After a long hiatus, they are back! And random as ever! Get your Random Shirt today.

http://randomshirts.myshopify.com/collections/shirts

JV

Faithfulness

Faithfulness has always been a character trait of God that has given me so much peace. So much rest. And so many promises!

We serve a faithful God who is ALWAYS faithful. 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that our "God, who has called you into fellowship with His son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." God is faithful & His promises never fail us. God's promises meet our needs. Provide for us physically & spiritually. They are reliable. They are something we trust. God's promises NEVER fail. 

But, somehow, we seemingly have difficulty in trusting that 100%. Knowing God's character & His promises, it should be easy for us to be faithful to Him in light of His faithfulness. But we often don't trust Him to be faithful. Most of us don't see Him make things happen or hear His audible voice tell us exactly what to do. So we don't trust Him. We think His faithfulness was a limited promise & we do things on our own. Take things into our own hands. And it is when we do this, we in turn become unfaithful. Trusting ourselves over God makes us unfaithful. 

But we are called to be faithful. Completely faithful. Jesus gives an example of faithfulness through the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Most often, we hear that taught in reference to our gifts & talents & how we are to use those best for the Lord. And that's a great application. But, as the master is pleased with his servants, he tells them "well done good & faithful servant." 

Mistakenly, we get caught up in placing value in talent & ability on being a better Christian. That the best Christians are those who are talented, educated & full of ability. But the master doesn't say "well done good & talented servant." Again, he says "well done good & faithful servant." God places value on faithfulness. God values our faithfulness to Him & welcomes those who are faithful to share in His happiness. 


Value His faithfulness to you. And know God values your faithfulness to Him. 


JV

Hello Somebody

How cool would it be if when we bought something for ourselves, we fed the hungry? Like buying a shirt or watch & then 50-100 people get food in return? That the money we spend doesn't all go to making someone or some company that much richer? But that the things we purchase actually help provide food & clean water for someone in need?

Yeah that'd be awesome. AND it's real. It's called Hello Somebody.

Hello Somebody is a non profit brand that exists to bring positive world-wide change through the love, passion and creativity of common people. The goals of Hello Somebody is to provide food for 1 million starving people in a calendar year, drill water wells for those who are prone to water born disease, launch rescue efforts to young people trapped in human slavery and to bring hope through the kindness and action of young passionate people. 


In their first attempt at ending hunger, HS was able to provide 50,000 meals to homeless and desperate Haitians. This has provided a platform to feed the masses world-wide. If you will join us in our fight, together we could save lives and positively impact this amazing world. Click on the banner below to shop. 

The call of the hopeless and hungry is out there. Will you help us answer it? Hello Somebody…Are you out there?


JV

Lecrae CONCERT!

So we got a HUGE surprise announcement here for you: Lecrae is coming to town!

That's right, we're gonna get crunk to some "Jesus Musik" on Wednesday night, October 20 at 7:00 PM at the Bryant Middle School gym. Follow the link below to RSVP your attendance:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101559879911615

So on that night, either meet us at the door, catch a ride with a friend or show up at the church & we'll haul you over. *This concert will REPLACE our regular youth worship*. Here are the details:

WHO: Lecrae & 116 Clique
WHEN: Wednesday, October 20 @ 7 PM
WHERE: Bryant Middle School gym
COST: $5 at the door
TRANSPORTATION: Meet at NLBC @ 5:45 PM

It's gonna be banging & bumpin! Don't miss out!

JV

Oh, Goodness

How many of us feel like we're pretty good people? We do the right things, have good morals & of course we go to church. So we're good right?

Wrong. Romans 3:12 tells us that "there is no one who does good, not even one." And when the rich young ruler addresses Jesus as a "good" teacher in Luke 18, Jesus is quick to respond "no one is good - except God alone."

It's pretty clear from Scripture that we're not good. That we aren't moral enough, nice enough or do enough right things to ever be considered good. That title remains for God alone. ONLY Jesus is good & apart from Him & outside of a relationship with Him - we're no good.

I think a common mistake we make in thinking we're good is when we compare ourselves to others. We think we're pretty good when we can see others committing "bigger" sins that we stay away from. Surely we're good in the regard?

Wrong again. You see, Jesus is the standard for goodness. Not others. Jesus sets the most perfect standard for being perfectly good. If we're not like Him - we're not good. It doesn't matter if we're "better" than others. Our standard is Christ.

But here's the hope: Jesus MAKES us good. In becoming a Christian, Jesus changes you from in the inside out. You become a new creation full of new life, and you turn away from your former sinful self. You become what Jesus has called you to become - and you become good. You take on the character of Jesus & clothe yourself with His goodness.

There's a great clip from the film Get Low that brings us a great challenge:

The great line states "If you don't do this by yourself, you'll never know if you're any good. And you'll never be good, if you don't know that you are." 

So. KNOW Jesus has made you good. LIVE good in His standard. DO good to others. 

JV